Literary Fortresses: Translation and "World Literature" in Y. Ḥ Brenner's Beyond the Borders and "From the World of Our Literature"

Abstract:In the study of comparative literature today, World Literature has come to function as a subdiscipline that probes the circulation of literary texts, seeking to overcome or minimize cultural hierarchies. While proponents of World Literature view translation as the ultimate vehicle for achieving these goals, critics emphasize the limits of translation and the need to acknowledge cultural asymmetries rather than assume they might be abolished. In the work of the Hebrew writer Y. H. Brenner (1881–1921), one finds similar discussions around translation and linguistic and cultural hierarchies. Brenner's 1907 play Beyond the Borders (Me'ever lagvulin) tackles explicitly the issue of literary marginality, anticipating contemporary discussions around World Literature. Brenner's 1908 review-essay "From the World of Our Literature" (Me'olam sifruteinu) complements the play, grappling with the question of what makes a literary work worthy of translation. In both works, Brenner refers to the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen as a problematic example of global or European literary fame. In discussing Ibsen, Brenner converses implicitly with the Danish literary critic Georg Brandes, whose work and success drew the attention of Hebrew intellectuals at the beginning of the twentieth century. Offering an analysis of the representation of translation in Brenner's play and review essay, this article compares Brenner's ideas to the ideas that Brandes articulated in his 1899 essay "World Literature" (Weltliteratur). The article argues that at a time in which nationalist and internationalist views clashed in Europe, both Brandes and Brenner offered a nuanced, ambivalent understanding of translation and marginality, which challenges the assumptions shared by proponents of World Literature today.